


(Things We Won) After the Fire

by misura



Category: Alphas
Genre: Community: smallfandomfest, Gen, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-02-04 04:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1764889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You're not my partner," Gary said, barely two seconds after they'd gotten into the elevator, and Cameron's newly boosted ability kicked in to show him the most likely continuation of this conversation, in full-colour sound and vision. "Bill's my partner." (post-S2 AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Things We Won) After the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: _Gary-Cameron friendship, Gary saves Cameron and the day_ (ember_reads)

14:05

"You're not my partner," Gary said, barely two seconds after they'd gotten into the elevator, and Cameron's newly boosted ability kicked in to show him the most likely continuation of this conversation, in full-colour sound and vision. "Bill's my partner."

 _Focus. Keep your attention on the here and now, where it belongs_ and great, he was quoting Star Wars at himself again. As if Qui-Gon could be relied upon to provide wise guidance. In Cameron's book, anyone who got himself skewered on the wrong side of a light-saber was in no position to dispense wisdom to others in regards to their life's choices.

"You still got my back, right?"

Of course, he'd still take a fictional dead guy over Stanton bloody Parish.

"It's weird, you know," Gary said. "I mean, how could I have your back, really? Haven't I got my own back? And a person can't have two backs, because then they wouldn't have a front, and everybody has got a front. It's weird," he repeated, and Cameron emphatically didn't think _No,_ you _are_.

"It's just an expression," he said, out loud. His head hurt, which wasn't Gary's fault.

Gary wasn't the reason he'd maybe been drinking a bit too much last night.

"I know it's just an expression," Gary said, looking annoyed. "I'm not an idiot. You're an idiot."

"Yeah," Cameron said. Nothing he hadn't thought himself, before. Only an idiot would have let Stanton Parish live. Only an idiot would have accepted his taking over the team, 'to honor Dr Rosen'. To make amends.

As if that was even remotely possible.

_Dani. That bastard killed Dani._

"You look sad," Gary said. "Are you sad because I called you an idiot? I didn't call you an idiot because I wanted to make you sad. I just called you an idiot because you are. But everybody's an idiot sometimes. And you're a part of everybody, too, so it's okay."

"It's not okay." Cameron shook his head, which was a mistake, obviously.

"Why is it not okay to be a part of everybody?" Gary asked. "I'm a part of everybody. Bill's a part of everybody. Nina, too, and Rachel, and Kat. It's good to be a part of everybody. That's what Dr Rosen always told me. Even if I'm special, and really amazing, I'm still part of everybody."

"I ... " Cameron said. One did not, as a rule, tell Gary to shut up.

Or, well, one did, but there would be consequences, very possibly Consequences, and Cameron didn't think anyone was going to believe he was capable of handling fieldwork again if he came back with Gary all worked up and refusing to talk to him again for the rest of the day at least.

"You don't like Stanton Parish," Gary said. "Nobody likes Stanton Parish. You should join the club."

"If nobody likes him, why do we all listen to him?" The elevator dinged.

Gary shrugged. "He's the boss. You should listen to the boss. Bruce Springsteen is the boss, too, but I'm not sure what he wants people to do."

"You want to drive?" Cameron asked, which was bribery, and blatant bribery at that, and probably also not a very smart thing to ask, but then, Cameron felt that maybe smart was overrated.

 

15:25

 _"We must not judge a man simply for being afraid and confused, Mr Hicks,"_ Parish said.

"You did this, you know," Cameron panted. "You gave these people superpowers and then - what? You thought they'd all start playing nice together? No more criminals?"

 _"I didn't_ give _them anything, Mr Hicks."_ Cameron gingerly touched the back of his head, felt his fingers get wet. Wondered why he was even bothering with this argument. _"I merely sought to augment what was already there."_

A high-pitched scream and another part of wall came tumbling down. _Not good._

"And to hell with everyone else?"

Parish didn't immediately answer, even though it was an old argument. Perhaps he was multi-tasking, running a meeting with those who remained at Washington and an ops at the same time.

Cameron supposed it would be slightly hypocritical to complain, given that he'd just as soon not have Parish talking to him at all.

_"I trust Mr Bell is all right?"_

"I told him to stay in the car," Cameron said. There was a hint of movement to the right and he pointed his gun at it, heart pounding.

 _"You mean to say you are not in the car yourself?"_ Parish asked. _"Are you injured, Mr Hicks? Do you require an extraction? Medical attention? What of the Alpha I sent you to capture? Is he still in the building?"_

"I'm working on it," Cameron snapped. "He's not making it easy." To the left, this time.

 _"You answered your cellphone in the middle of an ops?"_ Parish asked, sounding incredulous and more than a bit like his opinion of Cameron's intelligence had just sunk to new depths.

 _Well, screw him, anyway._ He'd have done the same for Rosen, probably. Definitely. Rosen would have only called him for something important, something he'd felt Cameron needed to know right away.

Parish was not Rosen. Would never be Rosen. _Not even close._

 

17:20

Hospitals were not Cameron's favorite places to regain consciousness.

"I saved you," Gary said, from the left of him.

"He certainly did," Parish said, having shown the remarkable consideration to sit down on the right, which meant Cameron wasn't obliged to look at him. "You see, Mr Hicks, unlike yourself, Mr Bell has fully mastered his recently increased abilities. With my aid, of course."

"You didn't help me that much," Gary said. "You just talked. Everybody can talk."

"Everybody can indeed talk," Parish said. "Listening, it seems, is something many find more difficult to do." There was a creak as he rose. "Perhaps you might try it some time, Mr Hicks. I did, after all, give you my blood - some people might feel that puts you in my debt."

"I thought Gary was the one who saved me."

Parish sighed. "I wish you a fortuitous recovery, Mr Hicks. Mr Bell."

"I'm not sick," Gary said. "I'm fine. I don't need a fortuitous recovery."

"So how'd you save me?" Cameron asked, when he was sure Parish had left. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone move like that guy did." Speed and ultrasound: not exactly a healthy combination.

Rosen might have said it wasn't a logical one, either. Fire-resistant hands and the ability to start fires, now, that made sense. That fitted. Running really fast and being able to demolish buildings with one's voice? Far less so.

"I screamed," Gary said. "Very quietly. It was awesome. I was awesome. You're still not my partner."

"Well, thanks for having my back, anyway," Cameron said. _Signals, then. Something to do with signals. But what kind?_

"In your head," Gary said. "They're really hard to see. I'm amazing, though. I can see them. I can see everything - or nearly everything. I'm not Rachel. Rachel can't not see everything. It makes her crabby. I'm not crabby."

 _You would be, if you'd been stuck in a padded white room for weeks._ Parish said it was for her own safety, and Nina seemed to believe him, which shouldn't have been enough and yet somehow was.

"She's probably going to kiss you again," Gary said, grimacing. "She's on her way here right now - no, wait, she just parked her car. I should go. Will you tell her to tell Bill we're not partners? Bill's my partner."

"I will," Cameron said. "Promise."

Gary paused in the doorway, turned, said, "That means you have to do it," and Cameron said, "I will," and Gary nodded and then Nina was there, and kissed him, and Cameron wished he could feel like everything was going to be all right.


End file.
